Manufacturing pay settlements have risen slightly from the levels of the last few months to 2.8% and back to the level at which they have been for most of 2005, according to the latest information from EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation.
The average level of pay settlements for the 3 months to the end of October 2005 was 2.8%, the same as the revised figure for the 3 months to the end of September 2005 but, slightly higher than the figure of 2.7% that had been reported for the previous two 3 month periods to the end of July and August.
In addition, during the 3 months to the end of October 2005, the number of pay freezes reported fell slightly to just over 7% of all reported settlements. However, the number of manufacturers reporting that had deferred their pay settlement rose to nearly 5.5% of all settlements and was the highest figure reported for 12 months.
Commenting on these latest figures, David Yeandle, EEF Deputy Director of Employment Policy, said:
“Despite this slight increase, we have seen an increasingly consistent pattern of settlements in manufacturing throughout the year which indicates that there are no fears of wage inflationary pressure in the sector.”
Settlement level - per cent
Number of settlements
Zero (pay freeze)
8
0.01-2.00
8 ( 8 settlements at 2 per cent exactly)
2.01-3.00
64 ( 34 at 3 per cent exactly)
3.01-4.00
26 ( 10 at 6 per cent exactly)
4.00 or more
6
The November 2005 Pay Bulletin analyses 112 settlements covering 14,048 employees. Of these, the average settlement level was 2.7% in August 2005, 3.1% in September 2005 and 2.8% in October 2005 although, for all 3 months, these figures were based on relatively small samples of settlements. These figures may be subject to revision to take into account settlements for this period that have not yet been received.